ICC World Twenty20 2010: Frank Duckworth leaps to the defence of D/L method

One of the authors of the Duckworth-Lewis method has hit back at criticisms of the formula by England's Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood.

Washed up: Paul Collingwood, a critic of the Duckworth-Lewis method, clearly has plenty to think about during a break for rain in GuyanaPhoto: REUTERS

By Nick Hoult

7:25PM BST 04 May 2010

While he admitted the International Cricket Council should review the number of overs that constitute an innings, Frank Duckworth also said that the only complaints about the system had been levelled by England in the aftermath of defeats.

England were upset after their total of 191 was recalculated to a target for 60 from six overs which the West Indies achieved with relative ease in Guyana on Monday night.

But Duckworth said Collingwood should be looking at the performances of his bowlers in those final overs rather than blame the lawmakers.

He said: "While Paul Collingwood may have been angry at Messrs Duckworth and Lewis, he might have been angry at Messrs Bresnan, Swann and co who added to the four wides that they bowled before the rain by adding four more wides. So, the West Indies target wasn't just 60, it was effectively 52.

"Since T20 came into the world in 2002, there have been about 70 cases of T20 with a D/L revised target or result, and there's only been two moments of dissent, both by Paul Collingwood or ECB people and both following England not doing very well against West Indies. It's the high-profile matches that attract attention. The other 68 matches nobody queried."

Duckworth did, however, admit the present standard of five overs constituting a valid match should be reviewed by the ICC. "One or two people have already raised the point that the ICC ought to look into whether five overs for a valid match is appropriate because you can get this sort of apparent distortion," he told the Wisden Cricketer magazine.